Interlude: 1944-1947

• Artist: Sarah Vaughan
• Rating:
• Release Date: March 19, 2002
• Type: Compilation (best of)
• Genre: Vocal Music

Review

Here, Naxos takes listeners on a fascinating tour through Miss Sassy's earliest sides via a plethora of small, now-defunct labels and a galaxy of fabled bop and swing bandleaders and players. This was not the husky-voiced, swooping diva who much of the world came to know later; rather, Vaughan was a lighter, silkier soprano in the mid-'40s, more in the manner of the species of big band voices which an older generation of journalists used to call "thrushes." The disc opens with six tunes for the Continental label and one for Guild with various combos led by Dizzy Gillespie. You know you're in good hands on the very first track, "Mean to Me," which opens promisingly to the instantly recognizable flurries of Charlie Parker, with Flip Phillips and Gillespie to follow, no less. Vaughan has the temerity to take on the Billie Holiday signature song "Lover Man," and doesn't sound unseasoned or superficial in the least. Next is Sassy's recorded debut, "I'll Wait and Pray," a majestic performance on the DeLuxe label from December 5, 1944, with hints of the gliding, sassy contralto of the future. Her backing is no less newsworthy, a rare recorded appearance by the fabled Billy Eckstine big band that helped incubate the forthcoming bop revolution. Four ballad sides for Crown with John Kirby's combo from 1946 follow, with a lovely rendition of the then-brand-new standard "It Might As Well Be Spring" being the most alluring. The disc concludes with five examples of her work for Musicraft, including a hypnotic "September Song" and one for HRS, "We're Through," that also contains hints of the older Sassy's style. Anyone who wants to trace the evolution of Sarah Vaughan should start right here at the beginning. ~ Richard S. Ginell, All Music Guide

Tracks

Track Title	Composers	Performers	Time
Mean to Me	Fred E. Ahlert, Roy Turk	Sarah Vaughan	(2:43)
Interlude	Dizzy Gillespie, Frank Paparelli, Raymond Leveen	Sarah Vaughan	(2:32)
No Smokes Blues	Leonard Feather, Sarah Vaughan	Sarah Vaughan	(2:28)
What More Can a Woman Do	Peggy Lee, Dave Barbour	Sarah Vaughan	(3:05)
East of the Sun (And West of the Moon)	Brooks Bowman	Sarah Vaughan	(2:54)
Lover Man (Lyrics)	Roger "Ram" Ramirez, Jimmy Sherman, Jimmy Davis	Sarah Vaughan	(3:25)
Signing Off	Leonard Feather, Bob Russell	Sarah Vaughan	(2:43)
I'll Wait and Pray	Gerald Valentine, George Treadwell	Billy Eckstine, Sarah Vaughan	(2:58)
You Go to My Head	J. Fred Coots, Haven Gillespie	Sarah Vaughan, John Kirby & His Orchestra	(3:04)
I'm Scared	Lou Singer, Raymond Leveen	Sarah Vaughan, John Kirby & His Orchestra	(2:35)
I Could Make You Love Me	Peter de Rose, Bob Russell	Sarah Vaughan, John Kirby & His Orchestra	(2:48)
It Might as Well Be Spring	Richard Rodgers, Oscar Hammerstein II	Sarah Vaughan, John Kirby & His Orchestra	(3:02)
I'm Through With Love	Gus Kahn, Fud Livingston, Matty Malneck	Sarah Vaughan, George Treadwell Orchestra	(2:52)
September Song	Kurt Weill, Maxwell Anderson	Teddy Wilson, Sarah Vaughan	(3:05)
Don't Worry 'Bout Me	Rube Bloom, Ted Koehler	Teddy Wilson, Sarah Vaughan	(2:56)
Gentleman Friend	Richard Lewine, Arnold B. Horwitt	Sarah Vaughan	(2:36)
We're Through	Tadd Dameron, Jesse Greer	Sarah Vaughan	(2:39)
A Hundred Years from Today	Ned Washington, Joseph Young	Sarah Vaughan, Georgie Auld & His Orchestra	(2:58)

Credits

John Jackson (Sax (Alto)), Gene Ammons (Sax (Tenor)), Buster Bailey (Clarinet), Serge Chaloff (Saxophone), Buck Clayton (Trumpet), Tadd Dameron (Arranger), Leonard Feather (Piano), Dizzy Gillespie (Piano), Dizzy Gillespie (Trumpet), Dexter Gordon (Sax (Tenor)), Al Haig (Bass), John Kirby (Bass), Leo Parker (Sax (Baritone)), Flip Phillips (Sax (Tenor)), Max Roach (Drums), Charlie Ventura (Sax (Tenor)), Teddy Wilson (Piano), Bill DeArango (Guitar), Tommy Potter (Bass), Aaron Sachs (Clarinet), Chuck Wayne (Guitar), Russell Procope (Sax (Alto)), William Barker (Drums), Al McKibbon (Bass), Al Cohn (Saxophone), Al Porcino (Trumpet), Georgie Auld (Saxophone), Georgie Auld (Sax (Tenor)), Taswell Baird (Trombone), Bill Beason (Drums), Harry Biss (Piano), Art Blakey (Drums), Danny Blue (Trumpet), Scoville Brown (Clarinet), Don Byas (Sax (Tenor)), Big Sid Catlett (Drums), Kenny Clarke (Drums), John Collins (Guitar), Jimmy Crawford (Drums), Ed Cunningham (Bass), Eddie de Verteuill (Sax (Alto)), Eddie de Verteuill (Sax (Baritone)), Rudy DeLuca (Trombone), Morey Feld (Drums), Bill Frazier (Sax (Tenor)), Barry Galbraith (Guitar), Al Gibson (Clarinet), Al Gibson (Sax (Alto)), Boonie Hazel (Trumpet), J.C. Heard (Drums), George James (Sax (Baritone)), Jimmy Jones (Piano), Billy Kyle (Piano), Jack Lesberg (Bass), John Malachi (Piano), Shorty McConnell (Trumpet), George Nicholas (Sax (Tenor)), Chips Outcalt (Trombone), Charlie Parker (Sax (Alto)), Curly Russell (Bass), Curly Russell (Piano), Sarah Vaughan (Main Performer), Cecil Scott (Sax (Baritone)), Gerald Valentine (Trombone), Connie Wainwright (Guitar), Dicky Wells (Trombone), Gene Zanoni (Saxophone), George Treadwell (Trumpet), Bud Johnson (Sax (Tenor)), Georgie Auld & His Orchestra (Performer), David Lennick (Producer), David Lennick (Transfers), Billy Taylor, Sr. (Bass), Howard H. Scott (Trombone), Graham Newton (Digital Noise Reduction), Clarence Brereton (Trumpet), Peter Dempsey (Liner Notes), Remo Palmieri (Guitar), Nat Jaffe (Piano), Billy Eckstine & His Orchestra (Performer), Buddy Christian's Creole Five (Drums), George Treadwell Orchestra (Performer)